How to Use flattery in a Sentence

flattery

noun
  • He tried to win his teacher's favor with flattery.
  • And yet, this is the ultimate form of respect to players such as James – imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.
    Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 May 2024
  • Such flattery must have opened many doors for him in the past.
    Nicholas Casey, New York Times, 10 June 2023
  • But Woodward — much like the rest of us — didn't see the flattery in any of it.
    Erin Corbett, refinery29.com, 10 Sep. 2020
  • And nude stockings are a small price to pay for that kind of flattery.
    Alice Bell, Vogue, 19 May 2018
  • That language is the language of flattery, not of fire and fury.
    Chris Cillizza, CNN, 24 May 2018
  • The singer has yet to respond to Harlow’s act of flattery.
    Kat Bouza, Rolling Stone, 6 May 2022
  • If Moon has to earn a Nobel Prize in flattery to achieve this goal, so be it.
    Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, 30 Apr. 2018
  • The 6-1 guard isn't charmed by flattery about his recent play.
    J. Michael, The Indianapolis Star, 10 Apr. 2021
  • Neg them to breaking point, and then it’s flattery time.
    Rosa Lyster, The Cut, 14 Sep. 2017
  • You can be fooled by flattery and challenged to be at your best in group meetings.
    Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, 8 Nov. 2019
  • Host Levi kicked off the awards with some flattery and zingers aimed at the celebrities in attendance.
    Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, 18 June 2019
  • In both countries, where the hosts showered Trump with flattery and warmth, Trump played the role of gracious guest.
    Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 27 May 2017
  • Henry’s key, money and flattery, led him to be the victim of theft.
    Shannon Carlin, refinery29.com, 13 Oct. 2020
  • And not a copycat, even though copying is the biggest sign of flattery.
    Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2022
  • And that’s exactly the sort of flattery that earns hoodies around here.
    Linda Chong, Washington Post, 21 July 2023
  • To a chef, the sounds of lip smacking, slurping and swallowing are the highest form of flattery.
    Christiane Gelitz, Scientific American, 16 Aug. 2021
  • If that sort of thing can hurt a film with the HFPA, the reverse — flattery — can certainly help it.
    Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2017
  • But for Pence, such flattery has come to define his persona.
    Noah Bierman, chicagotribune.com, 3 July 2017
  • In which a scholar reveals himself to be prone to coarse gossip on the one hand, and false flattery on the other.
    Cate McQuaid, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Apr. 2018
  • As for Mr Trump’s stop in Beijing, flattery will prevail there, too.
    The Economist, 2 Nov. 2017
  • And the flattery and glowing orbs that entranced Trump are unlikely to work.
    Stephen Collinson, CNN, 25 Feb. 2021
  • Pay that homage to the roots, but again, the best compliment and best form of flattery is imitation.
    Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 13 June 2017
  • The flattery didn’t end in January, when Cohen says the project was abandoned.
    William Saletan, Slate Magazine, 31 Aug. 2017
  • There’s a phrase for that: Imitation is the most sincere most form of flattery.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Gucci doesn’t consider knock-offs to be a sign of flattery.
    Vogue, 24 Nov. 2021
  • And Vice President Mike Pence has flattery down to a fine art, once lauding the big man 14 times in three minutes.
    Stephen Collinson, CNN, 1 May 2020
  • The proposal’s now out into the universe, and Devan Chandler Long, who plays a viking on the show, even threw in a bit of flattery to seal the deal.
    Justin Caffier, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2022
  • While Hong and his team are trying their hardest to get the fakes taken down from the site, the artist is also taking it as a form of flattery.
    Britt Clennett, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2021
  • The people, being sovereign, require the same flattery, the same humoring of their wishes, and the same sacrifices of truths, as a prince.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 9 Oct. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flattery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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